Afghan vets, 8 dogs reunited in back in U.S.

Afghan vets, 8 dogs reunited in back in U.S.

1of5Members of the New York National Guard are reunited with Sheba and her seven mixed-breed puppies. The Guard unit befriended Sheba in Afghanistan.Photo: Frank Eltman, STF

2of5Members of the New York National Guard are reunited with eight mixed breed dogs that they found while on patrol in Afghanistan earlier this year, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013 in Port Jefferson Station, N.Y. A 65-pound mixed breed named Sheba was "adopted" by the team of soldiers earlier this year. When Sheba had a litter of puppies in March, the soldiers helped Sheba nurse them to health. A New York organization raised funds to have the dogs sent to the United States, where they will be adopted by the soldiers. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman)Photo: Frank Eltman, STF

3of5New York National Guard Staff Sgt. Edwin Caba holds one of eight dogs rescued from the battlefield in Afghanistan and flown to New York, where they are to be adopted by some of the soldiers who found them in Afghanistan, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013 in Port Jefferson Station, N.Y. A New York organization raised funds to have the dogs sent to the United States, where they will be adopted by the soldiers. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman)Photo: Frank Eltman, STF

4of5New York National Guard Staff Sgt. Edwin Caba, left, is reunited with one of eight dogs rescued from the battlefield in Afghanistan and flown to New York, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013 in Port Jefferson Station, NY, where they are to be adopted by some of the soldiers who found them in Afghanistan. At right is 1st Lt. Joseph LaPenta. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman)Photo: Frank Eltman, STF

5of5Members of the New York National Guard are reunited with eight mixed breed dogs that they found while on patrol in Afghanistan earlier this year, Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2013 in Port Jefferson Station, N.Y. A 65-pound mixed breed named Sheba was "adopted" by the team of soldiers earlier this year. When Sheba had a litter of puppies in March, the soldiers helped Sheba nurse them to health. A New York organization raised funds to have the dogs sent to the United States, where they will be adopted by the soldiers. (AP Photo/Frank Eltman)Photo: Frank Eltman, STF

PORT JEFFERSON STATION, N.Y. - Army reunions have been held as long as soldiers have been going off to war, yet a reunion this week was perhaps like none other.

National Guard soldiers from New York who befriended a stray dog while on patrol in Afghanistan were reunited with the 65-pound mixed breed and her seven puppies after the animals arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday.

The reunion was made possible by the efforts of a Long Island pet rescue organization whose motto is: "Paws of War - No Buddy Left Behind."

"They really became part of the family to us," 1st Lt. Joseph LaPenta of Staten Island said. The soldiers befriended the dog they called Sheba after arriving in Afghanistan in January. She sometimes joined them on patrol, chasing away other stray dogs that may have threatened the soldiers, they said.

In March, Sheba had a litter of seven puppies. Because Sheba was weakened from the births, they nursed her and the puppies back to health, feeding her their allotment of beef jerky and Army issued "meals ready to eat." Later, relatives sent bags of dog food from home.

Soon, however, the soldiers learned their base would be closed as part of the U.S. draw down in Afghanistan.

"It really broke our hearts that we might have to leave them there" La-Penta said.

That's when Staff Sgt. Edwin Caba of Long Beach sprang into action and contacted an old high school teacher. She put him in touch with a Long Island group called Guardians of Rescue, which has for several years collected donations to bring dogs back from combat zones.

"We won't turn our back on the servicemen and we won't turn our back on the dogs," said Guardians of Rescue president Robert Misseri Working with a private Kabul-based organization, the groups arranged to have the dogs sent to the United States.

The puppies, already 6 months old and about 2 feet tall, are named Cadence, Rocky, Sarah, Jack, Buckeye, Breezy and Harris.